Speed reducing attachment for an outboard motor



B. EDWARDS Jan. 1-6, 1962 SPEED REDUCING ATTACHMENT FOR AN OUTBOARD MOTOR Filed March 16, 1960 IN VENTOR BfLV/N EDWARDS %fi)/ ATTORNEY 3,616,871 @FEED REDUCING ATTACHMENT FUR AN @UTEBQARD MQTGR Eeivin Edwards, Pelahatchie, Miss.

1, Box 141, Brandon, Miss.) Filed Afar. to, 19nd, Ser. No. 15,318 3 Qlrims. -Cl. 115-422;)

This invention relates to a novel attachment which may be readily applied to the drive shaft housing of an outboard motor to minimize the thrust of the propeller and thus enable a boat, propelled by the outboard motor, to operate at extremely slow speeds to enable the occupant or occupants of the boat to efficiently troll, cast, fly-fish, or engage in other types of sport fishing from a slowly moving boat.

Another object of the invention is to provide a speed reducing attachment which can be quickly and easily applied to or removed from the drive shaft housing of an outboard motor and which includes means capable of being adjusted for varying the effectiveness of the attachment.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide an attachment which will afford an effective shield for the propeller to prevent damage to the propeller due to striking under water obstructions, and is also capable of shielding the propeller so that it can operate in weeds without being obstructed thereby.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawing, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view, partly in horizontal section, of the speed reducing attachment;

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal central sectional view thereof, taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 22 of FIGURE 1, and illustrating a portion of an outboard motor in broken lines with the attachment applied thereto, and

FIGURE 3 is a cross sectional view of the attachment, taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the lines 3-5 of FiGURES l and 2.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, the speed retarding attachment in its entirety is designated generally 5 and includes a housing, designated generally 6, having a top wall 7, side walls 8 and 9, a front wall ill and a bottom wall ll.

As seen in FIGURE 1, the side walls 8 and 9 are disposed in forwardly converging relation to one another and the front wall lltl is disposed between the adjacent forward ends of said side walls and also between forward ends of the top wall 7 and bottom wall ll, as seen in FIGURE 3. The walls forming the housing 6 are shown secured together by fastenings 12; however, the housing parts may be connected in any other conventional manner. The top wall 7 has an elongated notch or slot l3 which is disposed midway between the side walls 8 and d and which opens through the rear end of the top wall 7 and extends forwardly to a point approximately midway of the ends of the housing a. The bottom wall ll terminates approximately beneath the closed forward end of the slot 13, so that said bottom wall extends from the forward end of the housing 6 to approximately midway of the ends of said housing. The housing is is open at its rear end and at its bottom, behind the bottom wall 11. The rear end of the bottom wall 11 is provided with a groove M in its upper side and rear end and which is likewise disposed substantially midway between the side walls d and 9.

As seen in FIGURES 1 and 2, the front wall M is of substantial thickness and said front wall is provided rates Patent Ofilice Patented Jan. 1 f. d2

with a plurality of bores 15 extending from front to rear therethrough. Guide strips 16 are secured to and disposed against the side edges of the inner side of the front Wall 10 to provide a guideway therebetween in which a gate valve 17 is mounted for vertical reciprocating movement between the top wall 7 and bottom wall fl, as best illustrated in FIGURE 3. Strap members 13 6X- tend across the valve 17 and are secured at their ends by fastenings 19 to the guide strips 16, and which fastenings can additionally function for securing the guides to to the front wall lit. The gate valve 17 is provided with openings 28 which register with the bores 15 when said gate valve is in its raised open position abutting the top wall 7, as seen in FIGURE 2. In said open position of the valve 17, the openings 20 thereof are disposed above or below the retaining strips l8 so as not to be obstructed thereby.

A valve actuating lever 21 is pivotally connected by a fastening 22 to the upper end of the guide to, which is located adjacent the wall 9, and said lever 21 extends more than halfway across the upper portion of the valve 1'7 and has an elongated slot 23 in its free end A pin or stud 24 is anchored in and projects from the upper portion of the valve 17 and fits loosely in a part of the slot 23. A red or shaft 25 is supported and journaled in bearings as which are supported by'and disposed on the inner side of the wall 3. The rod or shaft 25 has an angularly extending lever portion 27 adjacent one end thereof and a terminal portion 28 forming a pin, which is disposed at an angle to the lever 27 and which loosely engages in the slot 23. The other end of the shaft 25 is turned laterally to form an actuating handle or lever portion 2'9 which is disposed beyond the rear end of the side wall 8 and which preferably bears against a spacing block 30 which cooperates with the forward bearing 26 and the lever portion 27 to prevent sliding movement of the shaft 25 in the bearings 26.

The rearwardly opening notch 13 is provided to re ceive a part of a drive shaft housing 31 which is located above and adjacent a flared drive shaft housing portion 32, for mounting the speed reducing attachment on the lower end of the drive shaft housing 31. The fiared portion 32 constitutes an anti-cavitation member and is disposed directly above the propeller 33 and is of a width substantially greater than the width of the notch 13 to prevent the attachment 5 from sliding downwardly relative to the drive shaft housing Eli. A flexible strap 34 has one end secured by a fastening 35 to the upper side of the top wall '7, on one side of the notch 11?), and the other end of said strap is detachably anchored to an anchoring element 36 which is secured to and projects upwardly from the top wall 7, on the other side of the notch 13. As illustrated in FIGURE 1, said last mentioned free end of the strap 34 may be provided with longitudinally spaced openings 37 to selectively engage the element 36, when the strap is engaged around the back edge of the housing 31, to retain a part of the forward edge of said housing against the closed forward end of said notch 13, as seen in FEGURES 1 and 2. The groove 14 is provided to be engaged by a part of the bottom edge of the skeg 3d of the housing 31, so that these parts cooperate with the notch 13, the flared portion 32 and the strap 34 for detachably securing the attachment 5 on the lower end of the housing Fill and substantially immovable relative thereto, and with the propeller 33 disposed in a shielded position within the rear part of the housing 6.

Assuming that the outboard motor is attached to a boat, not shown, as operating for propelling the boat in a forward direction, the efiectiveness of the thrust exerted by rotation of the propeller 33 will be substantially reduced due to operation of said propeller within the housing 6, because the amount of water which can be drawn rearwardly toward and thereafter thrust rearwardly from, the revolving propeller 35 will be substantially restricted by the attachment 5. The thrust exerted by the propeller 33 will cause the lower portion of the housing 331 to exert a thrust against the attachment in a direction from left to right of FIGURES l and 2. to maintain a part of the motor housing in tight engagement against the closed forward end of the notch 13 and a part of the slreg 38 in engagement with the groove 14. The front wall it) constitutes the leading end of the attachment 5 when the outboard motor is being driven in a forward direction. With the rod 25 disposed as seen in the drawing, the valve 17 is in a raised open position so that water will be forced rearwardly through the bores 15 and openings 2 toward the propeller 33. To further restrict the effectiveness of the attachment 5 by retarding the thrust exerted by the propeller 33, the handle 29 can be manipulated to turn the rod or shaft 25 in a clockwise direction, as seen in FIGURE 3, to cause the downwardly swinging pin 28 thereof to swing the lever 21 downwardly in a counterclockwise direction. The connection of the valve 1.? to said lever 21 by the pin 24 and slot 23 will cause the valve 17 to slide downwardly between the guides 16 to move the openings 2% thereof out of registration with the bores 15, so that no water will be supplied to the propeller through the forward end of the attachment 5. The valve 17 has a sufiicently tight engagement between the guides 16 and between the front wall it) and the retaining strips 118 to remain in either an open or a closed position. It will be understood that the number and size of the bores 15 and openings Ztl may be varied.

The attachment 5, in addition to effectively functioning for retarding the thrust of the propeller 33 and thus the speed at which a boat will be driven by the outboard motor, additionally functions as a shield or guard for said propeller. It will be readily apparent that with the attachment 5 applied to the motor housing 31 that the propeller 33 operates within the housing 6 of said attachment so that it is protected from striking underwater obstructions or becoming fouled by seaweed or other underwater growths. Accordingly, an outboard motor with 4% the attachment 5 applied thereto may be operated in shallow water and througi weeds, where fish are most frequently found, Without risk of the propeller being damaged or fouled.

The housing 6 may be formed of various materials either buoyant or nonbuoyant and the thickness of the walls thereof can vary considerably, depending upon the materials employed.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may be resorted to, without departing from the function or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

i claim as my invention:

1. A speed reducing attachment for an outboard motor comprising a housing formed of a non-foraminous material having an open rear end, said housing including a front wall having bores extending therethrough for admitting a restricted amount of water into the forward end of the housing, and means detachably securing said housing on the lower portion of the drive shaft housing of an outboard motor whereby the propeller is disposed for rotation within said housing.

2. A speed reducing attachment as in claim 1, a valve disposed within said housing for exposing or shutting ofi said bores, and a manually actuated means supported by said housing for moving said valve between an open and a closed position thereof.

3. A speed reducing attachment for an outboard motor comprising a housing formed of a non-foraminous material having a closed forward end and an open rear end, means detachably securing said housing on the lower portion of the drive shaft housing of an outboard motor whereby the propeller is disposed for rotation within said housing, and adjustable means connected to said housing for admitting a limited amount of water into the forward end of the housing through said forward end and for controlling and varying the flow therethrough.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 945,553 Kovacs Ian. 4, 1910 2,136,628 Lundell Nov. 15, 1936 2,244,217 Pries June 3, 1941 2,551,371 Grigg May 1, 1951 

